Free Practice Questions for CompTIA 220-1102 Exam

The first step in troubleshooting a hardware issue is to identify the hardware device that is causing the problem. Asking the user for the model number of the hardware can help the help desk technician to find the specifications, manuals, drivers, and other relevant information for the device. This can also help the technician to determine if the device is compatible with the user’s system, if it has any known issues or defects, and if it is covered by warranty or support contract. Asking the user for the model number of the hardware is a help desk best practice that can save time and effort in resolving the issue

User Accounts is a Control Panel utility that allows the technician to manage user accounts and groups on a workstation1. The technician can use User Accounts to grant local administrative access to a user by adding the user to the Administrators group1. The Administrators group has full control over the workstation and can perform tasks such as installing software, changing system settings, and accessing all files.

 Apologizing to the customer and escalating the issue to a manager is the best course of action for the support center representative to take. This shows empathy and professionalism and allows the manager to handle the situation and provide the appropriate service or resolution for the customer.

The best sign-on option that would allow any employee the ability to unlock the kiosk that relies exclusively on a numeric keypad is to use a PIN and provide it to employees. A PIN is a Personal Identification Number that is a numeric code that can be used as part of authentication or access control. A PIN can be entered using only a numeric keypad and can be easily shared with employees who need to unlock the kiosk. Requiring employees to enter their usernames and passwords may not be feasible or convenient if the kiosk only has a numeric keypad and no other input devices. Setting up facial recognition for each employee may not be possible or secure if the kiosk does not have a camera or biometric sensor. Requiring employees to use their fingerprints may not be possible or secure if the kiosk does not have a fingerprint scanner or biometric sensor. References: CompTIA A+ Core 2 (220-1002) Certification Exam Objectives Version 4.0, Domain 3.3

Risk analysis is used to explain issues that may occur during a change implementation. Risk analysis is a process of identifying, assessing and prioritizing potential risks that may affect a project or an activity. Risk analysis can help determine the likelihood and impact of various issues that may arise during a change implementation, such as technical errors, compatibility problems, security breaches, performance degradation or user dissatisfaction. Risk analysis can also help plan and prepare for mitigating or avoiding these issues. Scope change is a modification of the original goals, requirements or deliverables of a project or an activity. Scope change is not used to explain issues that may occur during a change implementation but to reflect changes in expectations or needs of the stakeholders. End-user acceptance is a measure of how well the users are satisfied with and adopt a new system or service. End-user acceptance is not used to explain issues that may occur during a change implementation but to evaluate the success and effectiveness of the change. Rollback plan is a contingency plan that describes how to restore a system or service to its previous state in case of a failed or problematic change implementation. Rollback plan is not used to explain issues that may occur during a change implementation but to recover from them. References: CompTIA A+ Core 2 (220-1002) Certification Exam Objectives Version 4.0, Domain 5.2

The best filesystem format to ensure read and write compatibility of USB flash drives across several generations of Microsoft operating systems is FAT32. FAT32 stands for File Allocation Table 32-bit and is a filesystem format that organizes and manages files and folders on storage devices using 32-bit clusters. FAT32 is compatible with most Microsoft operating systems since Windows 95 OSR2, as well as other operating systems such as Linux and Mac OS X. FAT32 can support storage devices up to 2TB in size and files up to 4GB in size. APFS stands for Apple File System and is a filesystem format that organizes and manages files and folders on storage devices using encryption, snapshots and cloning features. APFS is compatible with Mac OS X 10.13 High Sierra and later versions but not with Microsoft operating systems natively. Ext4 stands for Fourth Extended File System and is a filesystem format that organizes and manages files and folders on storage devices using journaling, extents and delayed allocation features. Ext4 is compatible with Linux operating systems but not with Microsoft operating systems natively.

The first thing that the specialist should do to protect the company’s data on an insecure network with open authentication is to connect to the vendor’s network using a VPN. A VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and is a technology that creates a secure and encrypted connection over a public or untrusted network. A VPN can protect the company’s data by preventing eavesdropping, interception or modification of the network traffic by unauthorized parties. A VPN can also provide access to the company’s internal network and resources remotely. Manually configuring an IP address, a subnet mask and a default gateway may not be necessary or possible if the vendor’s network uses DHCP to assign network configuration parameters automatically. Manually configuring an IP address, a subnet mask and a default gateway does not protect the company’s data from network attacks or threats. Changing the network location to private may not be advisable or effective if the vendor’s network is a public or untrusted network. Changing the network location to private does not protect the company’s data from network attacks or threats. Configuring MFA on the network may not be feasible or sufficient if the vendor’s network has open authentication and does not support or require MFA. Configuring MFA on the network does not protect the company’s data from network attacks or threats. References: CompTIA A+ Core 2 (220-1002) Certification Exam Objectives Version 4.0, Domain 3.3

Content filtering is a process that manages or screens access to specific emails or webpages based on their content categories1. Content filtering can be used by organizations to control content access through their firewalls and enforce corporate policies around information system management2. A SOHO client may have content filtering enabled on their network and may need to adjust it to allow access to a corporate website that is blocked by default. The client can use a software program, a hardware device, or a subscription service to configure the content filtering settings and whitelist the desired website2.

Operating system updates can sometimes cause compatibility issues with some applications, such as Outlook, that may prevent them from opening or working properly. This can happen if the update changes some system files or settings that Outlook relies on, or if the update conflicts with some Outlook add-ins or extensions. To fix this, the technician can try some of these troubleshooting steps:

Start Outlook in safe mode and disable add-ins. Safe mode is a way of starting Outlook without any add-ins or extensions that may interfere with its functionality. To start Outlook in safe mode, press and hold the Ctrl key while clicking on the Outlook icon. You should see a message asking if you want to start Outlook in safe mode. Click Yes. If Outlook works fine in safe mode, it means one of the add-ins is causing the problem. To disable add-ins, go to File > Options > Add-ins. In the Manage drop-down list, select COM Add-ins and click Go. Uncheck any add-ins that you don’t need and click OK. Restart Outlook normally and check if the issue is resolved4.

Create a new Outlook profile. A profile is a set of settings and information that Outlook uses to manage your email accounts and data. Sometimes, a profile can get corrupted or damaged and cause Outlook to malfunction. To create a new profile, go to Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles. Click Add and follow the instructions to set up a new profile with your email account. Make sure to select the option to use the new profile as the default one. Restart Outlook and check if the issue is resolved5.

Repair your Outlook data files. Data files are files that store your email messages, contacts, calendar events, and other items on your computer. Sometimes, data files can get corrupted or damaged and cause Outlook to malfunction. To repair your data files, you can use a tool called scanpst.exe, which is located in the same folder where Outlook is installed (usually C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16). To use scanpst.exe, close Outlook and locate the tool in the folder. Double-click on it and browse to the location of your data file (usually C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook). Select the file and click Start to begin the scanning and repairing process. When it’s done, restart Outlook and check if the issue is resolved.

Run the /resetnavpane command. The navigation pane is the panel on the left side of Outlook that shows your folders and accounts. Sometimes, the navigation pane can get corrupted or damaged and cause Outlook to malfunction. To reset the navigation pane, press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box, or open the Command Prompt. Type outlook.exe /resetnavpane and hit Enter. This will clear and regenerate the navigation pane settings for Outlook. Restart Outlook and check if the issue is resolved.

The error “BOOTMGR is missing” indicates that the boot sector is damaged or missing1. The boot sector is a part of the hard disk that contains the code and information needed to start Windows1. To fix this error, one of the possible methods is to run Startup Repair from Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)1. Startup Repair is a tool that can automatically diagnose and repair problems with the boot process2.

Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts the files on the victim’s computer and demands a ransom for their decryption. Ransomware can cause high disk throughput by encrypting large amounts of data in a short time.

A S.M.A.R.T. error is a warning that a hard drive is about to fail or has failed. This means that the OS cannot be loaded from the drive and the user will see an error message indicating there is no OS found. The most likely cause of this issue is drive failure.

The feature that allows a technician to configure policies in a Windows 10 Professional desktop is gpedit. Gpedit is a command that opens the Local Group Policy Editor, which is a utility that allows users to view and modify local group policies on their Windows PC. Local group policies are a set of rules and settings that control the behavior and configuration of the system and its users. Local group policies can be used to configure policies such as security, network, software installation and user rights. Gpmc is a command that opens the Group Policy Management Console, which is a utility that allows users to view and modify domain-based group policies on a Windows Server. Domain-based group policies are a set of rules and settings that control the behavior and configuration of the computers and users in a domain. Domain-based group policies are not available on a Windows 10 Professional desktop. Gpresult is a command that displays the result of applying group policies on a Windows PC. Gpresult can be used to troubleshoot or verify group policy settings but not to configure them. Gpupdate is a command that updates or refreshes the group policy settings on a Windows PC. Gpupdate can be used to apply new or changed group policy settings but not to configure them. References: CompTIA A+ Core 2 (220-1002) Certification Exam Objectives Version 4.0, Domain 1.6

Resetting the network adapter is the best way to apply the changes made to the hosts file on a few PCs. The hosts file is a text file that maps hostnames to IP addresses and can be used to block certain domains by redirecting them to invalid or local addresses. Resetting the network adapter will clear the DNS cache and force the PC to use the new entries in the hosts file. 

Robocopy is a command-line utility that can be used to mirror the source data for the backup. It can copy files and folders with various options, such as copying only changed files, preserving attributes and permissions, and retrying failed copies. Robocopy is more powerful and flexible than copy or xcopy, which are simpler commands that can only copy files and folders without mirroring or other advanced features. Copy-Item is a PowerShell cmdlet that can also copy files and folders, but it is not a native Windows utility and it requires PowerShell to run1.